2017 Great American Outdoor Show is a Must-See for Hunters

Pictured Above: Volunteers at the Hunts for Healing booth located in the Hunting Outfitter Hall

Have some free time this weekend? The Great American Outdoor Show (GAOS), Feb. 4-12 in Harrisburg, Pa., is a must-see for hunters. Along with the 650,000 square feet of exhibit hall space that includes an outdoor lifestyle hall, two outdoor product halls, an archery hall, a 3D archery range and a hunting outfitter hall, the GAOS offers seminars and demonstrations for hunters of every age and skill set.

Looking to build or enhance your hunting skills? A few of the seminars offered this weekend include Long Range Hunting and Shooting Principles, Hunting Whitetails in the Rut, Using Hand/E-calls to Become a More Successful Predator Hunter, and Gobblers Will Walk the Walk When You Talk the Talk.

I was able to attend Ken Hammel’s Gobblers Will Walk the Walk When You Talk the Talk, and picked up a few new tips myself. In his seminar, Hammel—life-long turkey hunter and owner of Mountain Hollow Game Calls—teaches attendees about the best calls to use and when to use them along with demonstration of each call. With all of his demonstrations, humor and straightforward advice, the hour-long seminar seemed to go by in fifteen minutes.

Wouldn’t it be great to have the ability to capture all of the exciting things you are seeing while hunting? Check out the Filming Hunts and Outdoor Photography seminar given by Tom Petry, who has more than 15 years of experience with outdoor television. Whether interested in filming your own or others’ hunts, mastering outdoor photography or simply learning more about the outdoor video industry, you will learn many useful tips that can be applied to all levels of experience. Here are just a few of the many tips you will get during the seminar.

1. Audio is Critical.The audio included in your videos can either make or break them. According to Petry, “Eighty percent of a good video is great audio.” Whether it be the sounds of nature or picking the right music to go along with what you film, having audio that fits your programming is imperative.

2. Film Video at Roughly 90 Degrees Off the Shooting Shoulder of the Hunter.When talking about the benefits of various camera angles to use while filming a hunt, Petry advised attendees that “roughly 90 degrees off the shooting shoulder of your hunter, and a couple feet higher, is about where you want to be.”

3. Learn to Use Manual FocusThe importance of learning to use the manual focus setting on your camera was mentioned multiple times. “If you learn to use manual focus you have the ability to rack that focus ring and capture images you won’t ever be able to capture in auto focus,” said Petry. He added that if you are struggling with learning to use the manual focus setting, try to remember that “left is long, right is right in front you,” which I found clever.

If you have been longing to hunt out West, be sure to stop by Seminar Room No. 3 at 12:30 p.m. on Sat., Feb. 11, and check out the Applying For and Drawing the Highest Quality Big Game Tags in the Country seminar given by Mark Peterson, host of “Cabela’s Instinct: Expedition Series” on The Sportsman Channel.

To see a full list of seminars and demonstrations being offered this weekend, click here.

The GAOS is being held at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and runs through Sun., Feb. 12. This show is one you don't want to miss! For more information and to buy tickets, click here.